The Roughriders visit the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday in the West Division final, with a berth in the 101st Grey Cup — to be played Nov. 24 at Mosaic Stadium — on the line.

Not surprisingly, Foley is keyed up for the 14th playoff game of his CFL career.

“I feel like I’ve always been a good performer in the playoffs,” said Foley, who was named the most outstanding Canadian in the 2012 Grey Cup game when he and the Toronto Argonauts beat the Stampeders. “I feel like I’ve always raised my level of play.

“I’m an emotional player, so (when) you create the bigger stage, I think big players rise up with big-time games. I relish it. I don’t feel any pressure at all. I just feel pure excitement. I’m anxious. I just want to get out there. I wish today was Sunday and I know we’ve got a lot of guys in the locker-room like that.

REGINA, SASK : February 26, 2013 — The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced the signing of non-import defensive lineman Ricky Foley and introduced him to the media at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, SK. on Tuesday, February 26, 2013 . BRYAN SCHLOSSER/Regina, Leader-Post.

“These are the moments that you look back on and you’re going to remember your whole life. The regular season happens, but you don’t really look back on that … Once the playoffs come around, all the vets have lunch together and start talking about, ‘Remember in ’07? Remember in ’09? Remember when this?’ That’s the thing that makes it special.”

Foley made it to the CFL playoffs in each of his four seasons with the B.C. Lions, winning a Grey Cup with them in 2006. He and the Argos reached the post-season in 2010 and ’12, but missed in ’11.

The fact he has played in big games was one of the reasons the Roughriders signed the 31-year-old product of Courtice, Ont., as a free agent on Feb. 25.

Many of his Saskatchewan teammates also have been around the block in the post-season, but Foley still can provide advice.

“He has experienced things and he has been through playoffs before — and so have a lot of us,” said Roughriders defensive tackle Keith Shologan. “But he brings little things, like playing (Calgary) last year in the Grey Cup, so that always helps.”

Foley’s main suggestion to his teammates has been to stay the course.

The Roughriders had an 11-7-0 record in the regular season, meaning they’ve enjoyed some success to date. For Foley, the key is to keep calm and carry on.

“From my experience, the best thing to do is not get too uptight and not try to do anything too much different than what you’ve done,” he said. “You’ve been successful and you’ve got to this point. Keep doing what you’ve done to get here and just be focused.”

He’s well aware that there’s what he called “a genuine distaste” between the Roughriders and Stampeders based on their history of trash talk and physical play. But while he admitted the situation is “pretty combustible,” he’s stressing a focus on the task at hand.

He’s also preaching trust, whether it’s in one’s teammates, one’s coaches or the scheme. Teams succeed when the players believe in each other, he noted, and fail when players try to do too much on their own.

As well, Foley has experience when it comes to getting into a hometown Grey Cup.

The Argos turned that trick last season, going into Montreal and beating the Alouettes in the East final to earn the right to play in the Grey Cup game in Rogers Centre. There, Toronto downed the Stampeders 35-22 to win the CFL’s 100th championship.

A similar situation awaits the Roughriders if they can win Sunday’s game in Calgary, but Foley is telling anyone who will listen to think about the West final and not what lies beyond.

“I don’t look at it as pressure,” he said. “I’m trying not to think about it and I’m trying to get the guys not to think about it. But to me, (like) last year, it’s not pressure. It’s something exciting, something amazing.

“We all know how amazing it would be (to play in the Grey Cup in Regina). We all knew last year how amazing it would be and how amazing it was in your home city. But you can’t focus on next week. You’ve got to worry about this week.”

To that end, Foley hasn’t even shown anyone his hard-won Grey Cup treasures, opting not to pull out his championship rings in an attempt to motivate his Saskatchewan teammates.

“I kind of feel like, ‘Don’t wear them until you get another one,'” he said. “Then, once you get another one, you can wear them during the off-season — and hopefully I’m sporting three this off-season.”